On March 15, 1995, Hagel resigned as CEO but kept millions in stock options and declared that he was going to run for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska. Although he was a virtually unknown candidate; although he ran against a former governor, Ben Nelson, who was hugely popular; and although all the polls prior to the election indicated Ben Nelson would win the election, oddly Hagel won by a landslide with 83% of the vote.